Rick Moffat
CFL.ca
How do the Alouettes keep the Bombers headed towards Staggerviile? By keeping their “Whit’s about them” and staying out of the gutter.
Brandon Whitaker was underused in Montreal’s Labour Day loss to the Tiger-Cats, prompting head coach Marc Trestman to do the only thing he could when the two teams would meet the following week.
Use him wisely, and use him often.
Last week, Whitaker was on fire, registering 72 yards on the ground, while adding 78 more and a touchdown through the air.
It seems a lifetime ago from Whitaker’s three seasons spent on the team’s practice roster. Coach Trestman insists there is no magic number of touches for Whitaker in any game, but it seems as no coincidence that 20 touches had defenders biting on play-action fakes again.
Bowling Buddies
It turns out that the team that bowls together also wins together. Kerry Watkins has been coaching Jamel Richardson on local lanes, and just as Watkins is starting to find his groove again on the field, so is Richardson in the alley.
Watkins dreams of the perfect game – on the field and the hard-wood. His career high is 273. Even at the club’s charity golf tournament earlier this week, the veteran receiver wanted to talk about strikes and spares, not handicaps.
“I’ve got six or seven of my own bowling balls, but only one pair of shoes,” says Watkins. “You only need one great pair with the perfect fit. I can’t wait to get the team together for a bowling night.”
Watkins and quarterback Anthony Calvillo are starting to play nicely together again. Four catches for 58 yards is modest enough production, but the speedster signalled his full recovery from off-season nasal surgery and bothersome internal swelling by finding the endzone for the first time since last October.
Calvillo threw to Watkins on back-to-back plays after Watkins had dropped what would have been a difficult but not uncommon catch for the Louisiana-native. It appeared to be one of those “I’m coming right back to you so you can redeem yourself” calls the best QB’s seem to make so frequently.
“Truth is I’ve done that in the past, but didn’t set out with the intention to do it on that play,” confesses Calvillo. “It was just the play-call. I had another primary receiver and just made my right and went back to him.”
Good things come to those who wait and ask for more reps. Just ask Brandon London.
“I wasn’t just happy for my own touchdown, I was so happy for Brandon’s first because I’ve been coaching him up since last fall,” says Watkins all smiles. “I was like a player coach to him.”
London went down on one knee in thanks for the first of four strikes Calvillo would launch en-route to being named the Gibson’s Finest Offensive Player of the Week. He also held onto the ball as he trotted back to the sidelines like someone who feared he’d never get thrown to again.
The former property of the New York Giants (Super Bowl ring is the best evidence London was on the New York practice roster) continues to develop in the shadow of Richardson, SJ Green and Watkins. His upper body strength doesn’t match that trio and he can be more diligent on his downfield blocking, but Trestman says he’s “assignment sharp.”
Now, can they bowl over Winnipeg and stay out of the gutter?
